West
London boroughs, the government and the London Mayor know what
a key role local areas can play in
delivering the local benefits of economic growth to residents and
businesses. This involves local authorities working with each
other, local partners, including businesses and the voluntary
sector, to boost local economic activity, build more affordable
homes, support businesses, improve skill levels in line with what
the economy needs and so help to create apprenticeships and job
opportunities for local people.
In
order to drive growth at the scale necessary to make a real impact
- and to demonstrate the real potential of local areas to take over
national programmes relating to economic growth - local authorities
are increasingly working more closely together and with wider
partners as sub-regional partnerships.
The
West London Alliance (WLA) has worked for a number of years to
deliver significant savings and improve services for the
participating authorities. It has also won substantial external
funding and investment to deliver innovative programmes of work,
for example in the form of European Social Funding (ESF) and
government grants.
Now
members of the WLA have established a formal legal partnership to
deliver economic prosperity and growth in West London, called the
West London Economic Prosperity Board (EPB).
The
Board has an ambitious work programme to drive forward WLA Vision
for Growth, focused on making West London a thriving, prosperous
place within a dynamic world city. Specifically it will focus
on:
- Supporting low-paid residents in work to enable them to achieve
pay levels that can sustain and improve their living
arrangements
- Radically improving success rates for employment programmes,
particularly for disadvantaged residents and communities, and
getting all young people in West London into education, employment
or training
- Supporting delivery of at least 74,000 new homes to help boost
local industry and address the shortage of affordable homes to buy
and rent in London
- Increasing small business start-up and survival
rates
- Collaborating with higher education institutions to address
local skills gaps and support business growth
- Creating and maintaining thriving town centres that people want
to live in, work in, and visit.
The
West London EPB will play a leading role in discussions and
negotiations with the Mayor and the government about devolving
powers and functions related to economic growth to West
London.